It was recently announced that New Mexico joined Nevada in not recognizing the Utah Concealed Firearm Permit. Honestly, it means that’s just one more state to avoid.
As for the reasons, here is what I have compiled. It’s not surprising since NM is not as Second Amendment-friendly as UT.
The NM permit has more restrictions…
- No carry inside schools/preschools
- May only carry a single firearm at a time (Utah has no numerical restriction)
- Restricted as to type/caliber (specified on permit)
- $100 application fee
- 15-hour training class
- Shorter term (4 years)
- Must take a two-hour re-certification course at the 2-year mark
- $75 renewal fee
- 4-hour renewal course
- No non-resident permits issued – must be a NM resident
- More onerous to obtain – including requiring that a certified birth certificate, 2 photos, 2 sets of prints be supplied to the State.
I also seem to recall that you can’t carry in locations serving alcohol there – in Utah you can but can’t be legally under the influence (0.08 BAC, same as for DUI).
In the press release about this, it looks like unscrupulous NM instructors were mostly to blame…
“Weve had situations where certain concealed carry instructors in New Mexico solicit clients with the promise that if they train here and obtain a Utah license, which entails significantly less training than does a New Mexico license, it will qualify here, said Department of Public Safety Secretary John Denko. This is incorrect, and is nothing less than an effort to circumvent New Mexico concealed carry requirements which are designed to protect the public safety while honoring individual rights under the Second Amendment of the constitution.
Essentially they were telling their students that they could get a non-resident Utah permit and take only the Utah training. While it would simply have been better for them to restrict non-resident permits and accept only Utah permits held by Utah residents, they did the easy thing and now deny ALL Utah permits.
My personal recommendation is to go vacation or do business with states that recognize our permit. AZ, CO, WY, ID, WA, and plenty of others are on that list. Pay them a visit, and know that you can take care of yourself while you are there.